Bulgarian as a second language

Project Report | Jun 3, 2022
Supporting teachers of bilingual students

By Tsvetelina Angelova | Senior Specialist Fundraising and Development

Dear supporters,

Our project “Bulgarian as a second language” is moving forward and we want to share some important news with you.

The interest in the resources has been high and we quickly run out of printed copies. We launched a second edition of the materials and in the next two months, we will have 5000 books for the students for learning the alphabet and 1000 handbooks with instructions for the teachers. They will be distributed in our network of partner schools.

For the past 3 months, Bulgaria has welcomed students fleeing the war in Ukraine. The language barrier is one of the challenges the children encounter in the new education system they join. Teach For Bulgaria diffused the materials for teaching Bulgarian as a second language to teachers working with students from Ukraine and provided necessary textbooks to all students at the emergency center in Sofia.

In addition, we created a free online course for teachers. The course is self-paced and contains 9 modules that give teachers theoretical and practical knowledge on working with bilingual children and using the methodology developed by Teach For Bulgaria. We hope to reach more teachers and students who experience difficulties in the learning process due to the language barrier. If you know teachers who may need this kind of support, feel free to share the information with them.

Thank you for supporting us in this journey and for being an active part in achieving positive change for all students for whom Bulgarian is not a mother tongue.

With gratitude,

Teach For Bulgaria team

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Feb 3, 2022
New year- new language support materials!

By Niya Yanakieva | Development Specialist

Dear supporters,

Happy New Year!

We hope it will be one full of joy, good health and more equal opportunities for everyone in our society!

Our project “Bulgarian as a second language” is moving forward and we have some exciting news to share with you.

As you know, for the past two years we have been working hard on developing additional language materials to support students whose mother tongue is different from Bulgarian and who are struggling to obtain knowledge at school because of this language barrier.

We have so far developed a few useful instruments that can help teachers diagnose the language gaps of their students and work purposefully to improve their literacy levels. We also finalised the first ever book for learning the alphabet specifically designed for students for whom bulgarian is a second language.

We are now working on supporting students’ language development during classes that are different from Bulgarian language and literature classes.By learning with the help of illustrated stories to explain key mathematical concepts, students will build interdisciplinary links between mathematics and the Bulgarian language, develop their reading literacy and storytelling skills.This handbook with stories will target students in 1st and 2nd grade but will be useful to any student who can benefit from developing their vocabulary and maths skills in primary school.

We are also developing a basic vocabulary book for students in primary school containing the most necessary language material for students to work with.This book will contain both words from everyday life and words necessary for learning the material at school in all subject areas. This type of vocabulary book for students with a different mother tongue is still lacking in the context of the Bulgarian education system.

This will help both teachers and students in the path to language development in primary school.

Thank you for supporting us in this journey and for being an active part in achieving positive change for all students for whom Bulgarian is not a mother tongue.

We hope you will consider upgrading your regular donation or if you have been a one time donor-donating again, so we can bring this project closer to its big aim!

With gratitude,

Teach For Bulgaria team

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Oct 14, 2021
Quality language support for all students in need!

By Niya Yanakieva | Development and Fundraising Associate

Children with the book

Dear supporters,

We are excited to share with you that thanks to your support and generosity the first ever specialised book for learning the alphabet for children whose mother tongue is not Bulgarian is now a fact!

After months of hard work we can confirm that the following materials have been finalised and are already being disseminated across the country to many children who would benefit from them:

Book for the students for learning the alphabet
Tactile letters handbook
Handbook with instructions for the teacher

Who are these materials developed for?

-children whose mother tongue is different from Bulgarian and who are lacking Bulgarian language skills

-children whose mother tongue is Bulgarian but for one reason or another are experiencing difficulties with the language and are in primary school

-Bulgarian children who live abroad and have limited contact with the language

-everyone who wants to learn Bulgarian!

The materials are made in a way that allows them to be used by both experienced educators as well as parents at home, speech therapists and resource teachers. For this purpose, we have developed a handbook for the teacher, which contains detailed methodological instructions.

If you would like to receive these materials digitally, you can fill out the following form and request access to them: https://prepodavame.bg/porachay-materiali-za-detsa-bilingvi/

For many more useful materials on the topic, you can follow the website: https://prepodavame.bg/bsl/

How can you support us further?

The development of the best quality language support materials, consultations with experts, the validation and testing of the materials in real settings took around two years and a huge financial and time resource.

The big aim we had set in the beginning of this project still remains today-to reach as many children as possible who would benefit from the materials and the language support so they can learn to speak the Bulgarian language and prosper in school and beyond.

We hope you will consider upgrading your regular support or if you have been a one time donor-donating again, so we can bring this project closer to its big aim!

Thank you for your support and for believing in the power of language to change the lives of these children for the better!

Kindly,

Teach For Bulgaria team

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